150,000 pounds of eggs were involved in the recall.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Michael Foods says it's recalling buckets of hard-cooked eggs in brine sold for institutional use from its Wakefield, Neb., facility due to potential Listeria.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported 150,000 pounds of eggs were involved in the recall and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, said that amounted to 1 million eggs.
Michael Foods, based in Minnetonka, Minn., said no illnesses had been reported as a result of the potentially tainted eggs.
The recall is limited to hard-cooked eggs in brine in 10- and 25-pound pails labeled under six brand names -- Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti's, Silverbrook and Wholesome Farms -- and bearing lot codes of 1 LOT 1350W through 1 LOT 2025W and expiration dates ranging from 1/30/2012 to 3/10/2012, Michael Foods said a statement.
The recalled eggs were purchased by food distributors and manufacturers in 34 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
None of the eggs were sold directly to retailers or consumers; however, food distributors and manufacturers could have used them in products that were sold to retail outlets or used in food service settings in foods such as egg salad.
Consumers who might have purchased a product affected by the recall, or those who are unsure, should contact the original place of purchase, Michael Foods said.
For more information call Michael Foods at 877-367-3447, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
Komen apologizes for 'recent decisions,' pledges to continue funding Planned Parenthood
"We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics - anyone's politics."
Friday, February 3, 2012
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The Susan G. Komen Foundation, the U.S. breast-cancer awareness entity blasted for ending its Planned Parenthood funding, said Friday it reversed its decision.
"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," Komen Foundation founder and Chief Executive Officer Nancy G. Brinker said in a statement released on Business Wire. "We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not."
She said the original goal was a "fiduciary duty" to the organizations donors by not funding applications made by organizations under investigation. House Republicans are investigating whether Planned Parenthood is using federal funds for abortions.
"We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political," Brinker said. "That is what is right and fair."
"Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer," she said in the statement. "Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood," as well as preserve their eligibility to apply for grants in the future.
"We are enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grant-making criteria, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Komen partners, leaders and volunteers," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "What these past few days have demonstrated is the deep resolve all Americans share in the fight against cancer, and we honor those who are at the helm of this battle."
Richards said the Planned Parenthood-Komen Foundation alliance helped reach vulnerable populations, such as low-income women, African-American women, and Latinas, "especially in rural areas and underserved communities where Planned Parenthood health centers are their only source of healthcare."
"With Komen Foundation grants, over the past five years, Planned Parenthood health centers provided nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and more than 6,400 mammogram referrals," she said. "With the outpouring of support over the past week, even more women in need will receive lifesaving breast cancer care."
The Komen Foundation came under a barrage of criticism from its members, politicians and activists after the foundation announced its decision to sever ties with Planned Parenthood earlier this week.
The statement said the foundation would call its network and supporters "to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work."
"We ask for the public's understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve," Brinker said.
People with low self-esteem tend to bombard friends on Facebook with negative news of their lives.
Friday, February 3, 2012
WATERLOO, Ontario, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- People with low self-esteem tend to bombard friends on Facebook with negative news of their lives -- making themselves less likable, Canadian researchers say.
Amanda Forest, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, and her adviser, Joanne Wood, asked students how they felt about Facebook.
People with low self-esteem were more likely to think Facebook provided an opportunity to connect with other people and to perceive it as a safe place that reduces the risk of awkward social situations, the researchers said.
They also investigated what students actually wrote on Facebook, asking the students for their last 10 status updates. Each set of status updates was rated by an undergraduate -- a stranger -- for how positive or negative it was and how much they liked the person who wrote them.
The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, found people with low self-esteem were more negative than people with high self-esteem -- and the coders liked them less.
The coders were strangers, but that's realistic, Forest said because in their earlier research, they found nearly half of Facebook friends are actually strangers or acquaintances -- not close friends.
In addition, people with high self-esteem for more responses when they post negative items, perhaps because these are rarer, the researchers said.
Diet soda daily might contribute to heart attack, stroke‎
Those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely than those who drank none to have suffered a vascular event.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
MIAMI, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Drinking diet soft drinks on a daily basis might increase the risk stroke, heart attack and vascular death, U.S. researchers said.
Hannah Gardener and colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center in New York also found regular soft drink consumption and a more moderate intake of diet soft drinks do not appear to be linked to a higher risk of vascular events.
Gardener and her research team analyzed data from 2,564 participants in the National Institute of Health funded Northern Manhattan Study, which was designed to determine stroke incidence, risk factors and prognosis in a multi-ethnic urban population.
The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely than those who drank none to have suffered a vascular event, after taking into account pre-existing vascular conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and high blood pressure.
However, light diet soft drink users -- those who drink between one a month and six a week -- and those who chose regular soft drinks were not more likely to suffer vascular events, the study found.
"Our results suggest a potential association between daily diet soft drink consumption and vascular outcomes," Gardener said in a statement. "However, the mechanisms by which soft drinks may affect vascular events are unclear. There is a need for further research before any conclusions can be drawn regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption."
The pills don't contain enough contraceptive to be effective.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Pfizer Inc. voluntarily recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol due to a packaging error, U.S. officials said.
A statement by Pfizer said: "An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence. The cause was identified and corrected immediately.
"These tablets were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer Inc., commercialized by Akrimax Rx Products and labeled under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. This product is distributed to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies nationwide."
The daily dose of the oral contraceptives may be incorrect -- each package contains 21 tablets of active ingredients and seven tablets of inert ingredients -- and could leave women without adequate contraception putting them at risk for unintended pregnancy, Pfizer said. Correct dosing is key to preventing an unplanned pregnancy.
Although the packaging defects do not pose any immediate health risks, consumers exposed to the affected packaging should begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately.
Women who have taken the affected product should notify their physician and return the product to the pharmacy, the FDA said.
MORE:
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. announced today that it has voluntarily recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol)Tablets and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (generic)for customers in the U.S. market. An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence. The cause was identified and corrected immediately.
These products are oral contraceptives indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use oral contraceptives as a method of contraception. These tablets were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer Inc., commercialized by Akrimax Rx Products and labeled under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. This product is distributed to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies nationwide.
As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy. These packaging defects do not pose any immediate health risks. However, consumers exposed to affected packaging should begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately. Patients who have the affected product (lot numbers are provided below) should notify their physician and return the product to the pharmacy.
These products are packaged in blister packs containing 21 tablets of active ingredients and seven tablets of inert ingredients. Correct dosing of this product is important in avoiding the associated risks of an unplanned pregnancy.
Any adverse events that may be related to the use of these products should be reported to Akrimax Medical Information at 1-877-509-3935 (8 AM to 7 PM Mon-Fri CST) or to FDA's Med Watch Program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
Use postage-paid, pre-addressed Form FDA 3500 available at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm2. Mail to the address on the pre-addressed form.
Fax:
1-800-FDA-0178
Pfizer has responded rapidly to ensure that its products continue to meet the company’s high quality standards. The safety of patients who take our medicines is our first priority.
This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Lot numbers of affected packs of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol) Tablets and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (generic) follow on the table below:
Rates of infection among men were about three times higher than among women.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- About 7 percent of U.S. men and women ages 14-69 have oral human papillomavirus, but the prevalence is higher among men, researchers said.
Dr. Maura L. Gillison of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus and colleagues used data from a cross-sectional study as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009 to 2010, a statistically representative sample of the U.S. population.
A total of 5,579 men and women ages 14-69 were examined at mobile examination centers for HPV.
"Oral HPV infection is the cause of a subset of oropharyngeal -- relating to the mouth and pharynx -- squamous cell carcinomas. Human papillomavirus positive mouth and throat cancer are associated with sexual behavior in contrast to HPV-negative mouth and threat cancer, which are associated with chronic tobacco and alcohol use.
At least 90 percent of HPV-positive mouth and throat cancer are caused by high-risk HPV type 16 and oral infection confers an approximate 50-fold increase in risk for HPV-positive mouth and threat cancer.
Incidence has significantly increased over the last three decades in several countries, and HPV has been directly implicated as the underlying cause, the researchers said in a statement.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found oral HPV prevalence was associated with several measures of sexual behavior, including those who ever reported having had sex versus not having sex. Prevalence of HPV increased with lifetime or recent number of partners for any kind of sex, vaginal or oral, the study said.
A new study shows that exercise might help brighten the mood of people who suffer from chronic health problems.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Working out regularly may brighten the mood of people with chronic health problems like cancer, heart disease and back pain, according to the first sweeping look at previous research.
But it's no miracle cure: On average, six people would need to hit the gym or go for a jog for one person to see a mood improvement.
"It's a nice piece of evidence and I'm pleased because I like the concept," said Dr. Alan J. Gelenberg, who chairs the department of psychiatry at Penn State University in Hershey.
LONDON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Their "male warrior" instinct means men are programmed for aggression toward outsiders, a trait that leads to conflict, a Dutch-led study claims.
The study, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B in Britain, suggests an evolutionary instinct for violence against others helped early men improve their status and gain more access to mates, but in modern times can translate into large-scale conflicts.
This "tribal" attitude of men intended to boost their chances of reproducing is similar to the territorial behavior of chimpanzees, studies have claimed, but may not serve society well in the present day.
Researchers said the "male warrior" instincts "might not be functional in modern times and are often counterproductive," Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.
"A solution to conflict, which is an all-too-common problem in societies today, remains elusive," Mark van Vugt at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, who led the study, said. "One reason for this might be the difficulty we have in changing our mindset, which has evolved over thousands of years.
"Our review of the academic literature suggests that the human mind is shaped in a way that tends to perpetuate conflict with 'outsiders.'"
Study links teen heart risk to high fructose corn syrup
The study correlated high-fructose diets with higher blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors that contribute to heart and vascular disease.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
(UPI) -- High fructose consumption may put adolescents at diabetes and cardiovascular risk, U.S. researchers said.
Dr. Vanessa Bundy, a pediatric resident at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University and Norman Pollock, a bone biologist at MCG's Georgia Prevention Institute, analyzed 559 adolescents age 14-18.
The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, correlated high-fructose diets with higher blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors that contribute to heart and vascular disease.
Heavy consumers tend to have lower levels of cardiovascular protectors such as such as high-density lipoprotein, the "good," cholesterol and adiponectin -- a hormone that modulates a number of metabolic processes, including glucose regulation and fatty acid catabolism. Levels of the hormone are inversely correlated with body fat percentage in adults.
"The nutrition that caregivers provide their children will either contribute to their overall health and development or potentially contribute to cardiovascular disease at an early age," Bundy said in a statement. "Adolescents consume the most fructose so it's really important to not only measure the levels of fructose but to look at what it might be doing to their bodies currently and, hopefully, to look at cardiovascular disease outcomes as they grow."
New saliva tests offers fast effective way to screen for HIV
A new saliva test gives a result within 20 minutes, much faster than the currently used blood test.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be diagnosed from a mouth swab as accurately as from a blood sample, Canadian scientists said.
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal said that their saliva HIV test OraQuick HIV 1/2 was 99 percent accurate for HIV in high-risk populations and about 97 percent in low-risk populations.
The oral test works by detecting whether HIV antibodies are present in a person's oral fluid and gives a result within 20 minutes.